European private-equity firm Permira announced in early December that it plans to make its first African investment with the acquisition of Teraco Data Environments.
Founded in 2008, Teraco is based in Johannesburg and manages three Africa data centers that serve more than 170 clients. Teraco's facilities are some of the most interconnected in sub-Saharan Africa, with customers given the ability to connect directly with each site as well as through NAP Africa, the region's largest and fastest-growing IXP.
"As the leading carrier neutral data center provider with five growing customer ecosystems, Teraco is ideally positioned to continue supporting the critical IT infrastructure of its clients and their connectivity needs," said Michail Zekkos, principal at Permira.
The acquisition by Permira will support Teraco's plans for growth in the area, including strengthening its sales and marketing strategies and the company's expansion into sub-Saharan Africa.
Growth in the adoption of Internet and smart devices in the continent has helped to support an increase in the African data center market. South Africa is home to one of the most developed economies in the country, as well as one of the deepest financial markets. The South Africa data center market is growing especially quickly, with only one-tenth of facilities being outsourced as compared with one-third in the U.S.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.
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